CCTV sought to curb antisocial behaviour in Portlaoise

It’s a sad day when a community has to invite more surveillance into their lives, but funding is being sought for a new CCTV scheme for the Mountmellick Road in Portlaoise to curb the plague of antisocial behaviour.

That was the news and the sentiment expressed at today’s (Wednesday, April 25) meeting of the Portlaoise Municipal District in Laois County Hall.

Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley proposed a motion calling on the council to contact the Minister of Justice and Equality and request funding be made available for CCTV for the Mountmellick Road in light of the recent criminal and antisocial behaviour in the area.

She said she was raising the issue on behalf of residents of the area, where a block of houses was almost burnt out recently due to antisocial behaviour.

She said she was looking to secure funding as Garda Chief Superintendent John Scanlan had said that CCTV could be the way forward.

Praising the great garda presence in the area recently which had made a huge difference, Cllr Dwane Stanley asked that a letter go to both Minister Charlie Flanagan and the gardaí on the matter as a means of bringing community policing forward.

“The majority of the people just want to get on with their lives,” she said, adding that antisocial behaviour is a problem all over the county.

Seconding the motion, Cllr Noel Tuohy said: “It’s a sad day when we get to the stage where we want to be supervised, where we want cameras looking into our houses.”

In response to Cllr Caroline Dwane’s motion, Ms Kim Kinsella, administrative officer with the roads department, replied that the management and installation of CCTV is a matter for An Garda Siochana.

She said that a letter will issue from Laois County Council to the gardaí with the details of this notice of motion.